Coming Back: You Knew Retirement Couldn’t Last, Right?
More to come soon — the same focus but a renewed look, to help get the word on thinking, worshiping Christanity out more broadly than ever. Image Credit(s): Gigi/Unsplash.
Time for Change: Retiring this Blog to Focus on a Crucial New Initiative
How does one say this, after all these years, all these friendships, all these interactions? It’s been quite a ride, for one thing. And it’s coming full circle. When I started this blog on another platform almost 15 years ago, I thought it was going to be about Christian strategy. It quickly morphed into an apologetics and ethics blog, however. Now I’m returning to that original strategic intention now. I’m doing as part of a group, on a different platform,…
The Man Who Gave His Consent To Be Born
News came out a couple weeks ago about Raphael Samuel, a 27-year-old Indian man who’s reportedly suing his parents for bringing him into this world without his consent. “Life was imposed on me…. I want to make it a legal right for a child to sue a parent…. Ideally the parents should not have the child. But if they do have the child, they must compensate the child, they must guarantee property for the child, they must guarantee a good…
Who’s Interested in Apologetics and Why? New Research Reveals New Answers
Why are some Christians more interested in apologetics than others? Do you think you know the reasons? Probably. But only partly. The Spiritual Readiness Project has just released a research report this morning on What Motivates Interest In Apologetics? Read it online or download the printable version. Prepare to nod your head in agreement with some of the findings, and to be surprised at other — especially the two big factors we found that don’t seem to motivate many people’s interest…
How and How Not to Use Psychological Research Regarding Abortion and Other Social Issues Be careful relying research as your authority in arguments — unless you know how to use it authoritatively.
I was just looking at a Facebook battle over whether women tend to suffer emotional distress after an abortion. A secular psychiatrist said there’s no evidence; someone else insisted there was. As Christians we are committed to truth. We need to know what we’re talking about, to make sure we’re speaking truth, before we engage in these kinds of arguments. I’m not sure the Christian in this discussion was succeeding in that. That doesn’t mean she’s wrong; in fact as…
Jesus Is Too Good To Be False
Groundbreaking “Lewis-esque” article now available again! Five years ago I published an article at Touchstone magazine that I titled “Too Good to be False,” and which they titled, “The Gospel Truth of Jesus.” Leading New Testament documents scholar Daniel Wallace paid me the compliment of calling it “Lewis-esque.” For quite a long time Touchstone displayed it for free on their website, but now it’s behind a subscriber paywall. The copyright is mine, so today I’m republishing it here. Being five years old, obviously this argument has…
Skeptic Shermer Won’t Be Fooled Again; Gets Fooled Again
Let’s start by agreeing Shermer is right, as he opens this interview: Humans do seek out evidence that supports our beliefs. We do tend to cement our convictions more than we question them. He’s wrong, though, when he tells Stephen Colbert (at 1:40), “The only way to tell, really, the difference between these true patterns and false patterns is science.” I’m happy to leave the most obvious flaws in that thinking for you to discuss in the comments. For starters,…
Why 2019 Must Be Your Church’s Year to Wake Up, Get Equipped, and Reach Out
Happy New Year! It could be a great one, if we’ll finally wake up, get equipped, and reach out. That’s why I want to ask you to take thirty minutes to watch at least the first half of this video. Dr. Michael Brown and I were talking on his Line of Fire radio program about my Stream article, Church, Wake Up! An Urgent Call to Action. (Also mirrored on this site. The Line of Fire title you see below is for the…
Why Don’t Atheists Show More Curiosity About Their Own Beliefs? They have reason to wonder about their view of our God. But do they?
We Christians get charged with believing things uncritically, not showing sufficient curiosity about other beliefs, or about how ours could be true. I’ve got the same sort of question for atheists.* Thinking Christian commenter Benjamin Cain supposes that the God Christians worship is a “human-like,” “monstrous,” “psychopathic,” “jealous, irrational, sadistic tyrant,” waving the equivalent of a “magic wand.” That’s all found in just one single tour de force of a comment. He’s not alone; Richard Dawkins led the way in…